A while ago agility handler Sue Crow approached her coach with a poem titled "No Mind Dog". She was inspired to tell the story of a lost handler, as she and her dog Dewey had now reached a turning point in their agility career; leaving the story of "no-mindness" behind them.

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Dewey and our one and a half year old Springer, Spencer. Dewey is reclining on my lap.

 

No Mind Dog

She was in the habit

Of flinging herself along,

Hands gesturing wildly,

Eyes darting, searching.

Lacking connection.

Blinded by uncertainty.

Feet pounding wildly

From here to there,

Committed only to

The loosest of plans.

Cuing confusion.

Dragging the faithful

In her wake.

 

Dewey and I started agility training on the same day. Dewey is a 6-year old English springer spaniel that my husband and I got as a puppy from Foxboro Farms in Michigan. From the start he excelled at Rally. At agility - not so much. He loved the running, jumping and contacts, but he was easily distracted and could not bear repetition.

The title of my poem, No Mind Dog, is a little unfair to Dewey. It should have been No Mind Handler. As a beginner I required many repetitions. And I became very frustrated when I could not remember the course. Dewey sensed my frustration and blamed himself. Over time he became difficult to motivate.

We struggled along, even entering a CPE trial and a couple of AKC trials at the novice level. Dewey loved the excitement of a trial. Me - not so much. We did well, but the novice courses were very easy.

We soon found ourselves in ever-more advanced training classes that we weren't really ready for. The routes were convoluted. The training area was quite small so the twists and turns piled on each other. I couldn't attend to the instructor's suggestions because my mind was completely focused on trying to remember the course.

Turning point

Then we joined OneMind Dogs Instructor Beth Hostetter's advanced agility training class at Leashes and Leads near Rochester, Minnesota. Beth was a recent convert to OneMind Dogs and began teaching her classes according to OneMind Dogs principles.

OneMind Dogs wasn't an immediate success for us, but we had renewed hope. Here was a scientific approach to what had previously seemed like magic. But there was still that pesky problem of remembering the course.

Here again Beth came to our aid. Beth emails the course to her students a day or two ahead of time. I draw the route on a numberless course map and memorize it as shapes rather than as a series of numbers. Usually I split a convoluted route into two or three sections. Now I rarely look at the numbers, even when first walking the course.

Once I no longer had to desperately search for the next number I found I was able to begin connecting with my dog - after four years of barely knowing where he was! I had been expecting Dewey to obey shouted instructions and follow my back and wildly waving hands. Hands are way down the list of cues. Vocalizations are lower. The back isn't even on the list. Poor Dewey. No connection. No cues. No wonder he would wander off or just stop and stare at me.

The poem, No Mind Dog, came about after a successful agility class. I knew the course. We were running well, but I had been flinging my arms about as usual. Beth suggested that I "zen it." In other words, calm yourself. I did my best and suddenly Dewey and I were running the course as a team. It was a joy. I remember thinking "there's a poem in this." I wrote No Mind Dog that same day.

Interestingly the zen concept of "mushin - no mind," is a good thing. Mushin is achieved when a person's mind is free of thoughts of anger, fear, or ego. What a perfect state of mind for dog training!

The second part of my poem outlines where Dewey and I are now on our journey.

 

One Mind Dog

No need to search wildly

Around for the numbers.

You've studied the route

And plotted a line.

It's twisting and turning

But under control.

Your job is to lead,

So get to it!

Connect with your partner.

Let him feel your support.

Your face, your chest, your feet.

All point to the line

That you've chosen.

The obstacles are just in his way.

No need to shout over or up.

He'll do it.

Watch for his eyes to commit

Then cue what's coming up next.

Don't linger to watch.

He showed that he would and he will.

Remember, he isn't

Reading the numbers.

It's you that he's trying to read.

Don't fail him.

 

- Sue Crow